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Met on RealJock: Introducing Another RealJock Couple

By L. K. Regan

A few weeks ago, we put out the call for RealJock couples to tell us their stories. We always hear how you guys meet up, date, even fall in love—now it's time for you to tell us how you do it! We began by profiling happy couple Tempo 94 and Sigp339, who told us a little bit about what makes them tick. Now, we'd like to introduce Apollodok04 and DRTOBE. At ages 27 and 24 respectively, both of these guys live in Dallas, TX and have been involved for over a year. They were kind enough to share their story with us—so grab a bowl of popcorn and get ready for a love-story!

First FlamesApollodok04 has finished med school and is getting ready to start his residency; DRTOBE describes medical interests of his own: "Teeth and muscle structure are very important to me. I like challenging myself with new tasks and setting new goals in all areas of my life. I'm a nerd, and love to learn about medicine and anatomy." So, clearly these guys have a lot in common. DRTOBE put it pretty simply in his communication with us. "I would just say that every day is an adventure," he said, "and I look forward to waking up with him everyday." Sounds great! But for the juicy details, we turn to Apollodok04.

Apollodok04 tells us that he met his paramour in winter of 2007, when he was, as he tells us, "doing what any virile RJer would do in his free time to stay warm... checking out the hot men on my friends' hot lists!" Admit it, we all do that. And now we know it's a pretty productive use of one's time, since Apollodok04 noticed DRTOBE on a friend's page and "sent him a message to say hello and compliment his obvious work in the gym." Try to be subtle when you do this, though, guys. "He says I was being a cougar," Apollodok04 tells us, "and maybe I was!"

Dating Follies
From there these guys hit it off with meetings in the modern style. That's right, they worked up from messages to talking on the phone. "We spoke on the phone after a few messages back and forth that got longer and longer," Apollodok04 says. "I remember him talking my ear off... but I liked it. I just laid the phone down on my pillow and pleasantly let him babble away." Aw, who hasn't been there a time or two?

From those late-night talks it was only a short step to... a test of manners and character. "We talked a lot about wanting to go snowboarding," Apollodok04 remembers. "I'd never gone. Evidently he'd gone 'a few times'. Both of us being adventurous yet not insane, we decided we should meet in person before committing to a trip together." Wise tip for safe long-distance dating! But here's where Apollodok04 put this new relationship to the test. "He drove from Oklahoma to N. Texas and met me in the parking lot of my apartment, then proceeded to go to dinner with me and about 10 other of my med school friends. It was rude of me to do, but it didn't phase him...he delighted in all of it. And that was the beginning."

Dude, we don't mind saying—you got very lucky there. But since that early day DRTOBE has been repaid, it seems, by getting Apollodok04's help in gaining weight and muscle. "Now I'm at 175 and growing," he says. So in the end it was worth an awkward first date!

Dating Philosophy
For Apollodok04, an initial physical attraction has grown into a relationship that goes far beyond the physical (despite that fabulous new physique DRTOBE is developing...). "Obviously his handsome face and athletic body were the snares," he says, "but his optimism, compassion, intelligence, sass and hypomanic all-around-good-energy sealed the deal." And now, more than a year after their first conneciton, what keeps them happy? As Apollodok04 puts it, "One—Honesty. Two—Communication. Three—Loyalty. We swear by these 'pillars'." Those are some pretty strong pillars.

Even so, there's plenty of room for humor. These two tell us that they call each other "Harold" and "Gertrude" since they are in some ways so much like, as Apolldok04 puts it, "an old married couple." He goes on to wonder, " I don't know how I got to be Gertrude though—that's not fair!" We'll let these guys sort that one out on their own.

Final Thoughts
In the end, these guys know that love is about finding confidence in feeling safe. "I come from a damaged past," Apollodok04 says. "He's helped me to learn to trust again. He's just reminded me to sail my ships from the harbor and seize life." That's an image we could all stand to live by.

We hope Apollodok04 and DRTOBE will keep us posted on their travels and milestones! And for any of you other RealJock couples out there, please write in and tell us a little about yourselves! We'd love to profile you for the site. Just email us at info@realjock.com, with "RJ couple" in the subject line. You can tell us anything you'd like us to know about you; sample questions can be found here. We're looking forward to hearing from you.